A world traveler who lived in the United States for nearly two decades, Lafcadio Hearn earned a reputation in Cincinnati and New Orleans as a journalist who portrayed colorful local inhabitants and reported on sensational, violent crimes. Shortly after he was fired from the Cincinnati Daily Enquirer for marrying Alathea Foley, a black woman and former slave, he went to work for the Cincinnati Commercial , where he published his articles either anonymously or under the pseudonym Ozias Midwinter (after a character in the Wilkie Collins novel Armadale). The following is one of his early articles for the Commercial, an interview with a reluctant “medium” whose “gift of conversation” brings to life recollections of a lifetime of frightful experiences.

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“They do say the dead never come back again,” she observed half dreamingly; “but then I have seen such queer things!” . . . If you don't see the full selection below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

This selection may be photocopied and distributed for classroom or educational use.

5 comments:

Barbara D Darr
said...

This is a wonderful posting---and I only discovered it this morning. I can hardly wait to go back and read the stories I missed. What a great way to start the week on this gray winter day. Thank you, Library of America.

Barbara Darr - Houston, Tx. and a member of LOA from the very beginning.

The PDFs print out in nice large type so they are ideal to "publish" for my 94-year-old mom, who ignores radio and TV but reads everything I can round up for her. Thanks, LOA! (Meanwhile, I'm well past 100 volumes on my bookshelves.)